Oregon football: How the Ducks matchup against Auburn, TCU and Boise State

View full sizeThomas Boyd/The OregonianOregon's Eddie Pleasant hammers Boise State's Jeremy Avery at Bronco Stadium in Boise Idaho, Sept. 3, 2009. The Broncos won 19-8. A rematch could take place in this season's BCS national title game.

Seattle rookie cornerback Walter Thurmond is having a strong rookie season -- in the locker room.

Sure, he has 29 tackles this season and had a career-high nine last Sunday. But some of the former Duck's strongest performances have come when boasting to teammates about No. 1-ranked Oregon. And there are plenty of people around willing to engage, especially teammates from two other contending programs, No. 2 Auburn and No. 4 TCU.

"We talk a little trash," Thurmond said. "I just tell them 'They don't want to see our offense right now.'"

Oregon (10-0, 7-0 Pacific-10 Conference) is two wins from likely earning a berth into the Bowl Championship Series national championship game Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz. The Ducks' opponent would almost certainly be one of the other three undefeated teams; No. 2 Auburn (11-0; No. 2 BCS), No. 3 Boise State (10-0; No. 4 BCS) or No. 4 TCU (11-0' No. 3 BCS).

Atlanta tight end Justin Peelle, a member of the Ducks 2001 Fiesta Bowl championship team, doesn't have teammates from the other three BCS contenders. But living in Southeastern Conference country he hears plenty of chatter about how the Ducks should never be ranked ahead of an SEC contender like Auburn.

Here's a early look at how the Ducks stack up against like championship game opponents:Oregon vs. Auburn: Auburn need only win its final two contests, including the SEC championship on Dec. 4 to reach the BCS title game.

Athlete for athlete the Tigers present the toughest challenge for Oregon and no team is more battle tested against ranked opponents.

The SEC has five other teams ranked in the Top 25. Auburn has vanquished all except No. 9 Alabama, the Tigers' opponent Friday.

Auburn would put plenty of strain on an Oregon defense that has allowed 3.43 rushing yards per carry and ranks 25th in rushing defense (126.3).

The Tigers rank third in the nation in rushing (307.9 yards per game), slightly ahead of Oregon, which ranks sixth (291.1).

Auburn runs its own version of the spread offense while relying heavily on quarterback Cam Newton who leads the team with 1,297 yards rushing with 17 touchdowns and has thrown for 2,038 yards and 21 touchdowns with only six interceptions.

As close to a one-man show as there is in college football, Newton does receive help from the running back combination of Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb who have combined to rush for 1,542 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Defensively, the Tigers have been more prone to giving up points than the Ducks. Auburn ranks 60th in scoring defense (24.91) while Oregon ranks 11th (17.2).

Auburn has proven vulnerable, winning five games by eight points or less including three by a field goal whereas the Ducks have had only one opponent come within 10 points and that was during a 15-13 win last week at California.

Oregon vs. Boise State: The Broncos, who play Friday at No. 19 Nevada, likely need Auburn or Oregon to lose in order to receive an invitation to Glendale.

Should they face the Ducks there, the matchup would come with plenty of story lines.

No team since late 2007 when Oregon lost three quarterbacks to injury has had more success against Oregon's offense than the Broncos, who defeated the Ducks 19-8 to open the 2009 season.

In that game Boise State attacked gaps on defense forcing the Ducks to run laterally while making quarterback Jeremiah Masoli attempt to beat them with the pass, which he could not.

Since then, the Ducks have piled up points at an impressive rate and lead the nation this season averaging 50.7 points per game. Meanwhile, the Broncos returned a bulk of their defense this year and in the past two seasons have held 10 opponents to 10 points or less with four shutouts.

The defense is led by safety Jeron Johnson and defensive end Ryan Winterswyk, both considered to be NFL Draft prospects by NFLDraftScout.com

The knock against Boise State is its schedule. The Western Athletic Conference has not traditionally stacked up against the SEC or Pac-10 in terms of depth. Consequently, many question the validity of Boise State's record on a national level despite the Broncos ranking second in both scoring offense (47.9) and total defense (229.2).

But Boise State has traditionally performed well against BCS programs and quarterback Kellen Moore likely could dominate anywhere. Moore this season has completed 71.8 percent of his passes for 2,921 yards and 28 touchdowns with five interceptions.

View full sizeAP Photo/Mike FuentesSan Diego State quarterback Ryan Lindley (14) is sacked by TCU safety Colin Jones during the second half of an NCAA college football game against TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010. TCU won 40-35.

Oregon vs. TCU: Like Boise State, TCU is relying on Oregon or Auburn to lose in order to receive a national title berth. But the Horned Frogs, No. 3 in the BCS, also must be concerned with Boise State, No. 4, because it could move past them with a win over Nevada.

Should the Horned Frogs sneak into the title game against Oregon it would set up a matchup of the top offense and defense in the nation.

The Horned Frogs lead the nation in total defense (223.18) and scoring defense (10.91).

But, like with Boise State, many question TCU's strength of schedule. The Horned Frogs have held eight opponents to 10 points or less with their best win coming 47-7 over No. 23 Utah.

On Nov. 13 TCU squeaked past San Diego State 40-35 raising questions about the Horned Frogs' ability to control an offense such as Oregon's.